USA > Iowa > Page County > History of Page County, Iowa : also biographical sketches of some prominent citizens of the county, Vol. II > Part 38
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Politically Mr. Fleming is a republican, giving support to the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He has served as trustee of Harlan township for one term but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. He belongs to the Presbyterian church of Clarinda and is a cooperant factor in the work of the church and in every measure for the progress and upbuilding of the community.
CLARENCE E. BLAIR.
Clarence E. Blair is the secretary of the firm of Loranz & Company, conducting a business in farm loans, insurance and abstracts at Clarinda. He was born in Chenoa, Illinois, on the 4th of July, 1873, a son of Leander V. and Martha L. (McGahon) Blair. In 1888 the family home was es- tablished in Clarinda, where Leander V. Blair, who was a miller by trade, had charge of the City Mills. He is now living retired in Clarinda, where both he and his wife still make their home, being numbered among the most highly esteemed and respected residents of the community. The broth- ers and sisters of our subject are as follows: M. Gertrude, who is a teacher in the high school at Clarinda, Iowa; Frank L., who was reared in Clarinda but is now living in Creston, Iowa, where he is engaged in the conduct of a drug store ; Effie L., the wife of Thomas L. Brown, of Clarinda ; John S., the secretary of the Duluth Elevator Company; and Cecil C., who is connected with the Monarch Elevator Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In the acquirement of an education Clarence E. Blair first attended the public schools of his native town and following the removal of the family to Clarinda he continued his studies here. After putting aside his text- books he worked in the flouring mill with his father for about two and a half years and was then made assistant postmaster, capably discharging the duties of that office for four and a half years. Subsequently he was
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identified with the Green Bay Lumber Company at Clarinda for two years and was then employed in Weil's clothing store for three years. On the expiration of that period he was made deputy county clerk and on retiring from the office at the end of two years he acquired an interest in the Loranz Company, becoming a partner in the concern. On the in- corporation of the enterprise on the Ist of January, 1906, under the name Loranz & Company, Mr. Blair was made secretary and has since continued to act in that capacity. The firm is an old one, having been established in 1874, and does an extensive business in farm loans, insurance and ab- stracts. They have the exclusive agency for loans for the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, in Page and Taylor counties. Mr. Blair is likewise the secretary of the Page County Building & Loan Association and is widely recognized as one of the leading, substantial and representative citizens of the county.
Fraternally Mr. Blair is connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Masons and for two years has served as secretary of the local lodge of the latter organization. He is likewise a valued and prominent member of the Presbyterian church, in which he has been trustee for four years, while for six years he was secretary of the Sunday school. His life is exemplary in all respects and he has ever supported those interests which are calculated to uplift and benefit humanity, while his own high moral worth is deserving of highest commendation.
J. B. SUTTON.
J. B. Sutton, the local editor of the Shenandoah World, is a well known and popular representative of journalistic interests in Page county. He was born in La Harpe, Illinois, on the 10th of July 1878, a son of Dr. R. H. Sutton, who was a successful medical practitioner. In 1884 the parents located on a farm near Shenandoah, Iowa, and the following year the family home was established in that city. Mr. Sutton, of this review, was graduated from the Shenandoah public schools in 1895 and subsequently entered Tabor College at Tabor, Iowa, completing the course in that institution in 1899.
On starting out in life on his own account he first worked in a clerical capacity for a time and then became local editor of the Shenandoah World, being thus connected with the paper for three years. During the following two years he acted as manager of the Shenandoah Knitting Mills. In February, 1909, he again became identified with the Shenandoah World in the capacity of local editor, in which position he has since remained.
Politically Mr. Sutton is a stalwart advocate of the democracy. never failing to cast his ballot in support of its men and measures. For five years he served as second lieutenant of Company E, Fifty-fifth Regiment of Iowa National Guards. Fraternally he is a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to the Consistory at Des Moines and also to the blue lodge and
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chapter at Shenandoah. He is likewise identified with the Modern Wood- men of America at Shenandoah. His aid and cooperation can be counted upon to further every movement calculated to benefit the community and he enjoys the high regard and esteem of an extensive circle of friends.
CHARLES NORTON MARVIN.
Charles Norton Marvin, the editor and principal stockholder of the Sentinel Post, published at Shenandoah, is well entitled to prominent men- tion in this volume as a leading representative of journalistic interests in Page county. He was born at East Orange, Delaware county, Ohio, on the 24th of September, 1857, a son of William Perry and Harriet Brewster (Hamlin) Marvin. On the paternal side he traces his ancestry back to Raynolde Marvin, of Harwich, England, who was born in 1514 and died in 1561. In the maternal line he can trace his ancestry back to Captain Giles Hamlin, born in England in 1662, who was a mariner for fifty years. He emigrated to America with the Puritans, settling in Connecti- cut. Both the paternal and maternal ancestors of our subject participated in the Revolutionary war. Major Ephraim Marvin served as captain and afterward as major in Colonel Field's regiment during the struggle for independence.
In 1859 William Perry Marvin, the father of Charles N. Marvin, brought his family to Johnson county, Iowa. In 1862 he enlisted for service in the Union army as a member of Company I, Twenty-second Iowa Infantry, and was killed in the charge on the Confederate works at Vieks- burg, Mississippi, on the 22d of May, 1863. His body was interred among the unknown dead in the National Cemetery at Vicksburg. His widow was afterward again married, becoming the wife of Lysander Taylor in 1866.
Charles Norton Marvin was reared in the usual manner of farm lads and attended the common schools near Westerville, Ohio, where his mother had taken up her abode after the death of her first husband. He sup- plemented his preliminary education by a high school course, spending three years in the town schools at Rock Creek, Ohio, and Marshalltown, Iowa. He continued to reside on the home farm until seventeen years of age and early in life manifested a fondness for reading. After completing his own education he taught school for five years and then became identified with newspaper work, with which line of activity he has since been connected. Ilis first position of this character was with a concern publishing an educa- tional journal known as the Iowa Teacher, which subsequently failed. He afterward became connected with The Star at Union, Iowa, acting as its editor for a year and a half, on the expiration of which period he began the publication of the Sentinel at Shenandoah, the first copy of which was "issued on the 25th of November, 1887. On the Ist of April. 1905, the Sentinel was consolidated with the Shenandoah Post and the paper has since
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been known as the Sentinel Post, Mr. Marvin being its editor and principal stockholder. He owns the building in which the journal is published and has long been numbered among the most prosperous, influential and pro- gressive citizens of the county.
On the 28th of June, 1884, Mr. Marvin was joined in wedlock to Miss Bertha L. McCausland, of Neodesha, Kansas. They have one living child, Merze, who is now a stenographer in the office of the state auditor at Des Moines.
Mr. Marvin gives his political allegiance to the republican party and for eight and a half years held the office of postmaster at Shenandoah under the administrations of Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt. For two years, from 1907 to 1909, he acted as president of the board of trustees of the Shenandoah public library. His fraternal relations are with the Masons, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is not a member of any church but leans toward the Methodist Episcopal faith. He meets the obligations of life with the confidence and courage that come of conscious personal ability, a right conception of things and an habitual regard for what is best in the exercise of human activities and has won the respect of all with whom he comes in contact.
FREDERICK FISCHER.
There has been no election perhaps in the history of Page county that lias been more fully the expression of popular approval and confi- dence than that which made Frederick Fischer county attorney, calling him to the office as the advocate of the democratic party in a county whose normal republican vote is as two to one. Such is the demand at the pres- ent time for honest government and for upright, faithful and capable service.
Mr. Fiselier was born in St. Clair county, Illinois, November 3, 1869, his birthplace being a little log cabin on a farm belonging to his parents, Louis and Mary (Friess) Fischer. In both the paternal and maternal lines the ancestors were Germans. Louis Fischer was born under the rule of the kaiser in 1826 and came to this country in the fall of 1852, settling in St. Clair county, Illinois. There he worked for several years as a farmi hand and later acquired a farm in that county, becoming owner of two hundred acres, which he carefully tilled and cultivated until 1881, when he disposed of his property in Illinois and removed to Iowa, settling in Grant township, Page county. The previous year he had purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land while on a visit to his brother-in-law in this county, and after taking up his abode on this property he continued to add to his possessions from time to time as his financial resources per- mitted until he became one of the extensive landowners of this part of the state, his holdings embracing eleven hundred and twenty acres, all in one
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body in Grant township. No finer land could be found in Iowa and through its development and cultivation his annual income was materially increased. He has since divided some of his property among his children but still owns large interests, including his home farm, which is three and one-half miles east of Shenandoah. Unto him and his wife were born five children who are yet living : Anna, who is attending Drake University ; Ida M., at home ; John Henry and Ernest A., who are resident farmers of this county ; and Frederick.
Frederick Fischer spent his youthful days on his father's farms in Illinois and in Iowa, being a lad of twelve years at the time of their re- moval to this state. His literary education was acquired in the district schools of the two states and in the Western Normal College at Shenan- doah, from which he was graduated with the class of 1890. Under the parental roof two lessons were early impressed upon his mind, to tell the truth and to respect the rights of others. His parent's native tongue was used in the home and it was not until he entered school that he began to learn English. After he had completed his scientific course in the Western Normal College there came an interim of four years when he had much trouble with his eyes and because of this fact could no longer study but spent the time on a farm. Later he entered the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and on the completion of the reg- ular course was graduated with the class of 1898. The same year he was admitted to the bar at Lansing, Michigan. Returning to his home in Page county he passed the required examination and on the 5th of October was admitted to practice in the Iowa courts.
Mr. Fischer at once opened an office in Shenandoah and entered upon the practice of his chosen profession. Here he has succeeded and in November. 1898, his fellow townsinen gave substantial proof of their belief in his ability and the confidence reposed in his official integrity by calling him to the office of county attorney. He was the first democrat elected to the office in Page county since 1861, receiving a majority of three hundred and seventy-nine-a vote which was highly complimentary owing to the fact that the republican vote is almost double the democratic vote in this dis- trict. He carried every precinct in the county with the exception of six and in five other precincts he polled the highest of any candidate of either party. His father had been a life-long republican but in early manhood Frederick Fischer began studying the political questions, issues and con- ditions, noted the abuses in the party and turned his support to the democ- racy, with which he has since been connected. His record has justified the confidence reposed in him, for he is using his professional skill and knowledge for the best interests of the county in upholding the standards of law and order.
On the 17th of June, 1905, Mr. Fischer was married to Miss Helen E. Field, of Shenandoah, a daughter of S. E. Field, now a resident of High- land, California, and formerly a representative from this district. Unto this marriage have been born two children, Gretchen and Helen Marie. Mr. Fischer is a member of Tricentum Lodge, No. 300, F. & A. M .;
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Sheshbazzar Chapter No. 82, R. A. M. and Shenandoah Chapter, No. 81, of the Eastern Star. He is also connected with Shenandoah Lodge, No. 1122, B. P. O. E., and with the Unitarian church. He is not a politician in the sense of office seeking although he is now one of the county's offi- cials, but he is a believer in good government and will work for interests of that character. He is therefore striving to give acceptable service to the office of county attorney and his record is most commendable.
JOSEPH S. TUNNICLIFF.
lowa with its splendid agricultural possibilities offers excellent oppor- tunity to him who wishes to earn his living by the tilling of the soil. Wash- ington has said that "Agriculture is the most useful as well as the most honorable occupation of men," and history gives evidence of the fact that it is the basis of all success. Devoting his time and energies in successful manner to the cultivation and improvement of a farm, Joseph S. Tunni- cliff has become one of the progressive and prominent citizens of Grant township, where he owns two hundred acres of excellent land.
He was born in Zanesville, Ohio, on the 18th of January, 1845, a son of Edward and Sarah (Cooper) Tunnicliff, both natives of Derbyshire, England, where they were reared and married. In 1841 they came to the United States, locating in East Liverpool, where the father, a potter by trade, was employed in the potteries for a short time. He then went to Zanesville, Ohio, where he engaged in this business on his own account, establishing potteries at that place. In 1855 he removed to Kewanee, Illinois, where he resided for about two years, moving thence to Hamp- ton, that state, where he followed his trade for a short time. Within a year, however, his potteries burned down and he returned to Kewanee, in which city he made his residence until called to his final rest, March 16, 1902, when eighty-nine years of age. The mother, although in good health at the time of her husband's demise passed away eight days later, while in her eighty-fourth year. Both were faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Spending the period of his boyhood and early youth under the parental roof, Joseph S. Tunnicliff acquired his education in the common schools and as early as his fifteenth year he began working on his own account, being employed as a clerk in a mercantile establishment for three or four years. In 1864, in response to his country's call for more troops, he cn- listed as a soldier in the Civil war for one hundred days' service, becoming a member of Company H, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Illinois Infan- try. In February, 1865, he reenlisted for a year as a member of Company A, One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Illinois Infantry, and after a most creditable military record was discharged in December, 1865. He had seen considerable active service, participating in many hard-fought battles and skirmishes, among them being the battle of Spanish Fort in Alabama.
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When his country no longer needed his services he returned home and on the 16th of September, 1866, was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Min- nick, of Kewanee, Illinois.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Tunnicliff resided upon a farm near Kewanee, which he operated for three years as a renter. In the spring of 1872 he came to Page county, Iowa, where he purchased eighty acres of land, making a first payment of one hundred and fifty dollars. This con- stituted the nucleus of his present fine farm, and upon this tract of eighty acres stands the present family residence, a comfortable and attractive dwelling. From time to time Mr. Tunnicliff added to his farm until his place today consists of two hundred acres all lying in one body, located on section 35, Grant township. It is a finely improved property, equipped with all of the modern conveniences and accessories that go to make up a model farm of the nineteenth century. He carries on general farming and his efforts in this direction have met with substantial success, and he is ranked among the prominent, well known and progressive agriculturists of Grant township.
As the years have come and gone the home of Mr. and Mrs. Tunnicliff has been blessed with fourteen children, ten of whom reached mature years. Eight are now living, namely: William, residing in Castle Rock, Colorado; Alice, the wife of Lawrence E. Pennewell, of Stoughton, Wis- consin ; Edward, a resident of Grant township, this county; Lida. who married Lewis L. Hunter, of Castle Rock, Colorado; Berton, making his home in Grant township ; Joseph, of Morton township, Page county ; Harry, who operates the home farm; and Fred, employed in a bank at Elliott, Iowa.
The family are all members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are highly esteemed throughout the community, while they occupy a prominent place in the social circles of Grant township. Mr. Tunnicliff gives stanch support to the republican party but he has never sought nor desired office as a reward for party fealty. He is, however, deeply and helpfully in- terested in the cause of education and served for many years as treasurer of the school board. He has made steady advancement in his life, not only in its successful accomplishment but also in matters of citizenship, gaining at the same time the favorable regard of all who know him. He is a man of marked strength of character, genial disposition and genuine worth and has the unqualified respect and good will of his fellowmen.
ALEXANDER HARRIS.
One of the substantial residents of Coin, Iowa, is Alexander Harris, who has retired from the active pursuit of farming though he still owns ten hundred and eighty acres of land in Washington township. He was born September 1, 1837, in McDonough, Illinois, and is the son of Alexander and Maritia (Creal) Harris. Both parents were natives of Kentucky, but
MR. AND MRS. ALEXANDER HARRIS
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the maternal grandparents, Durham and Margaret Creal were born in Mary- land, and the paternal grandparents, Alexander and Mary (Crawford) Harris, claimed Virginia as their native state. The parents of the subject of this sketch shortly after their marriage started to Illinois, where they spent the remainder of their days, the father dying in 1862, and the mother a few years later. Besides Alexander they were the parents of James R. and Durham, both deceased; John, who lives in Colorado ; George, whose home is in Missouri; William Wallace, of Bardolph, Illinois; Martin, of College Springs, Iowa ; James, a resident of Northboro, Iowa; Mary, the wife of William Edmundson, of Bardolph, Illinois; and Rosella who married Benjamin Smith of the same place.
The school facilities of McDonough county, when Mr. Harris was of an age to partake of them, were of the crudest, the nearest schoolhouse being four miles away, and that constructed of logs with slabs for flooring. In consequence the formal education that he received was very meager, and he has had to rely upon an apt mind and hard experience to give him that preparation for the problems of life that are now less severe than they were in the early days, just subsequent to the times of the pioneers. At the outbreak of the Civil war Mr. Harris enlisted as a member of Company L, Seventh Illinois Cavalry, but had been in the service but a short time when he was taken sick and sent home for six weeks. He returned to the front, but was again taken sick and was this time discharged from service, in the spring of 1862.
Seven years later Mr. Harris left Illinois and came to Iowa, finally lo- cating in Washington township, Page county, which was his home to within the past two years, when he retired from farming and moved to Coin. When he came here there was not a house where the flourishing towns of Shen- andoalı and Coin now are, and it was only after having traveled extensively through the state that he finally decided that Washington township offered the best inducements in the way of land. The years have justified his de- cision for he has been very successful. He pursued general agriculture, with- out specializing in anything, though he engaged to some extent in buying and feeding stock, a phase of his business he did not relinquish when he re- tired from the active life of a farmer. On June 26, 1875, Mr. Harris had an experience with a cyclone that he will not soon forget, as it carried away his house, and compelled his family to live in a shanty until another could be built. In the course of his long life Mr. Harris has built six houses, a fine one for himself, and five for those who have been tenants of his.
On the 13th of September, 1872, Mr. Harris was married to Miss Ma- thilda Spiker, the daughter of William and Caroline (Vincent) Spiker. The parents removed from New York state to Indiana, and from there to Terre Haute, Illinois, where they conducted a hotel for a number of years. The father enlisted at the time of the Civil war, but was away from home only a year when he was taken sick and died. Mrs. Harris was the oldest oi a large family, the others being : Isaac, of Griswold, Iowa; Oscar, whose home is in Kansas City, Missouri; Sylvia, deceased, who was the wife of
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William Chapman ; Lincoln, who lives in Dakota ; and Wilhelmina, the wife of Alfred Swinson, who lives in California. Mrs. Spiker married again, her second husband being John Thomas, and they had one son, Henry, who lives in Kansas.
To Mr. and Mrs. Harris have been born the following children : Ruby, the eldest, now deceased, was the wife of Sam Gibson and the mother of two children, Lura and Orville, the former of whom is being reared and educated by her grandfather Harris. Lewis Allen married Cora Applegate, who has borne him three children-Mildred, Russell, and Helen. Loy Elvin married Mabel Millen and lives on his father's farm. Melvina, became the wife of Judson Turner and is the mother of a son, Weldon Harris. Arthur Garfield married Mabel Washburn, and they have one daughter, Vera, and an adopted son. Harold. Eunice Etta married Edgar Frazier, of West- boro. Elmer Alexander is a farmer in Page county, Iowa.
Mr. Harris is the vice president of the First National Bank of North- boro. In political matters his support is given to the republican party and while on the farm he was a member of the township school board. Early in life he joined the Presbyterian church but on coming to Page county he became a member of the Methodist church, in which organization the mem- bers of his family are also enrolled.
CHARLEY A. WILLIAMS.
Charley A. Williams, who for thirty-eight years has lived in Page county, where he now owns and cultivates one hundred acres on section 5, Nodaway township, was born in Cornwall, England, September 3, 1866. His parents were John and Emma (Rogers) Williams, also natives of Cornwall, the former born in 1826 and the latter on the 4th of May, 1829. They were reared, educated and married in their native land and about 1867 crossed the Atlantic to the new world, settling near Racine, Wisconsin, where they lived for four years. On the expiration of that period they came to Page county, Iowa, in 1871 and took up their abode on a farm in Valley town- ship, a mile west of Hepburn. It was a tract of raw prairie at that time but, with firm purpose and unfaltering energy, the father took up the task of improving the place and as the years went by he converted the wild land into productive fields. He also added to his holdings from time to time until he became the owner of eight hundred acres but later disposed of much of this to his children.
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